Annika
by Romance and Lullabies
Summary: Ron has been gone for three years for Auror Training. Hermione never told him she was having his child. Now he’s back, and his daughter, Annika is three years old. Chapter One up.
1. Chapter One

_Author's Note:_

_I do not own any characters from the Harry Potter series. The only character I own is Annika. If you have suggestions and whatnot.. don't be hesisatant to e-mail me about them._

_Flashbacks or character's thoughts are in italics._

_Evan-

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**Annika** _Chapter One  
_

"Mommy!" The toddler jumped onto Hermione's bed. The three-year-old with bright red hair climbed onto Hermione back. "Mommy. Mommy up. Mommy up now, Mommy play."

Hermione got up, toting Annika at her waist. She set her down in the living room, and walked into the kitchen to make coffee.

"Harry come play?" Annika asked, waddling into the kitchen after her mother.

"Yes, Annika. Uncle Harry's coming today." Harry, thank Merlin for Harry. He helped Hermione raise Annika, from the very beginning. Hermione remembered the Harry's shock when she told him she was pregnant.

_"Harry." Hermione said, her voice full of fear of what her best friend would think of her._

_"Hermione, are you okay? Your face is awfully pale."_

_"Harry, I'm pregnant."_

_"You're what?"_

_"I'm going to have a baby, Harry."_

_"You can't do that by yourself! Do you know who the father is?"_

_"I believe so, yes." She wasn't going to tell him she was having Ron's child. He'd surely tell him, and she wasn't ready for that. _

_"Hermione, I am not letting you do this alone. I'm going to help you."_

Ever since then, he's taken care of Annika when Hermione had to go into the Ministry at all hours of the night, or when Hermione was sick. Annika was playing with blocks Harry had bought her from a Muggle store while Hermione read _The Daily Prophet_ in the kitchen. There was a loud _CRACK! _and she heard Annika squeal in delight. "Harry! Harry play!" The raven haired wizard ruffled her hair lovingly and walked to the kitchen.

"Ron's coming home." Harry said. Hermione dropped the cup of coffee, and the cup smashed into little pieces. The black liquid went everywhere.

"Coming home?" She asked, as she got out her wand and cleaned up the mess.

"Are you okay, Hermione?"

"When? I can't let him see Annika. Not yet." Harry gasped.

"Tomorrow. Annika.. She's Ron's, isn't she?" Hermione looked ashamed.

"Yes. I was afraid to tell him before he left for Auror Training. We had broken up by the time I found out. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I was afraid you'd tell him. I was so afraid he'd want to stay with me."

"Why?"

"That would mean he would be throwing his life away."

"There's more to life than Ron being an Auror. He would have found something else."

"But he's wanted to be one for so long."

"So did I. But marrying Ginny, I don't regret. Deciding to forego it and stay with Ginny was the best decision I could have made. I like teaching at Hogwarts. I'm sure Ron would have stayed."

"I didn't want him to settle, Harry. He lived in his brothers' shadows for so long, and even in yours. This was something that could establish himself with. Move out of the shadows. I wanted him to be great." Harry pulled his friend into a hug.

"He would be a great father, you know that."

"I know, Harry. I know."

She dressed Annika in simple white dress, with little black Mary-Janes. She combed her hair, and styled it.

"You are so beautiful, Annika. Mommy's little angel." Hermione smiled at her daughter.

"Annika pretty! Annika Mommy's angel! Mommy angel too!" The toddler bounced excitedly.

Hermione dressed in a black pant-suit, one she wore many times when she had to work with Muggles.

Harry was on his way to pick Hermione and Annika up and take them to the Burrow. Ron had asked about Hermione, how she was doing. It broke Harry's heart not being able to tell him about his daughter. Harry knew he'd be furious, it'd been three years, and Hermione never told him.

"He asked about you, you know."

"He did?" Hermione asked, picking up the diaper bag and swinging it on her shoulder.

"Yeah. He misses you. I'm sure he'll love Annika. How could he not? She's so damn cute!" He cooed the child in his arms. She kissed his nose, "Annika thinks Harry is cute too!" She giggled.

"Now, Ron.. I don't want you to overwhelm Hermione, okay? She's had it hard the last few years since you left."

"Ginny, why won't you tell me what's going on with her?"

"You'll find out soon enough, okay? Just don't get upset at her, alright? Let her explain herself before you decide anything."

"What?"

"Just do it, okay, Ron? Please."

"Okay." Ron agreed, shifty uncomfortably on the couch in the living room of the Burrow. He still loved Hermione, he knew that. They had had such little contact in the last three years, him with Auror Training and her with work at the Ministry. Everyone around him, however, seemed to know something else about Hermione's hardships.

Lost in his reverie, he didn't notice Harry come out of the fireplace.

"Ron?" Harry said. Ron jumped.

"Oi! Harry, sorry mate. My mind was somewhere else there for a minute. Where's Hermione?" He asked eagerly.

"She's coming, she's got something she needs to get."

"She _is_ coming, right?"

"Yes." Just as he said that, Hermione came out of the fireplace, followed closely by Annika.

"Hi, Ron." He was just as she remembered him. The same boy she fell in love with, only much leaner and filled out. This was her baby's father. Annika peaked around Hermione's legs, tugging on the leg of Harry's trousers.

"Harry?" She asked, as Harry picked her up.

"Ron," Hermione said quietly, "this is Annika."


	2. Chapter Two

_Author's Notes:_

_Sorry for the delay in an update.  
I would have this up sooner, only I'm grounded from the internet for dying my hair black. My father unhooked my modem from his, so I have to wait until I come here, to my sister's to upload._

_If there's a delay in updates, it's because of lack of internet access. Also I'm planning to have a friend of mine to come down sometime, so that's also taking up my time._

_Next week we go back to school from Winter Break and that'll take a **huge **amount of time from my writing._

_Thanks for all of the reviews!_

_Evan -_

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**Annika**:: _Chapter Two_

"Annika?" Ron asked.

"Your daughter."

"My- my? My what?" Annika tugged on Ron's trousers. He looked down at his daughter as she smiled sweetly at him.

"Hair! Hair! Red!" She said, pointing to Ron's locks and then to her own. He couldn't help but smile at the little girl. She was so much like him in her appearance, with his red hair, and freckles. She had Hermione's eyes, however, and Ron was willing to bet that she had her mother's sharp intellect. Hermione picked the child up, and handed her to Ron.

"Annika, this is Daddy." Hermione said. She smiled at Ron, with tears in her eyes. "That is, if you want to be, Ron."

"When did this happen, Hermione? Why didn't you owl me?" He asked.

"Before you left; before we broke up. I didn't want you to come back, Ron. That is why I didn't owl you."

"You didn't want me to come back?" He asked, sharper than he had meant, his snip made Annika's eyes tear up. Ron handed the wiggling girl to Harry and walked out of the door, outside. It was a clear sign for Hermione to follow him.

"No, Ron. I didn't. I didn't want you to throw your life away." She said, as she followed him out into the cool morning air.

"Throw my life away? How would me coming back to take care of my daughter be throwing my life away, Hermione?"

"You wanted to be an Auror so badly, Ron. I wanted you to be great. I wanted you to feel like you'd stepped out of your brothers' and Harry's shadow. I just wanted you to be the greatest wizard you could be. Being an Auror was something I thought you could do that with. I didn't think being a father would make you feel that way." Ron was flabbergasted.

"You don't think I'd make a good father?"

"Yes! I think you'd make a wonderful father. Just not something you could prove yourself with."

"Hermione.. I would have come back, I would have taken care of you and Annika. I wouldn't have been throwing my life away to be a father. Did you throw your life away being her mother?"

"Of course not. Annika is the most important person in my life, Ron."

"Did you know before I left?"

"Yes, but we had broken up by then, so I figured it didn't matter."

"How could it not matter?" He asked her, stepping closer, closing the gap between them.

"We had that horrid row before we broke up." She remembered that quite vividly.

_"Ron, we have to talk about this."_

_"What do you want me to say, Hermione? You want to go off gallivanting around America for this rubbish called University! What do you want me to do?"_

_"I want you to come with me! I've wanted to go to University even before I knew I was a witch, Ron. This isn't a sudden thing."_

_"Feels like it. Why haven't I heard about this before?"_

_"I just didn't feel right saying anything. I just want to be in the Muggle world for this. I would come back after I graduated. We would come back." She begged Ron with desperation._

_"If you really loved me, Hermione… If you truly did, you'd stay." Hermione gasped. She felt as if he had slapped her across her face. Her eyes stung._

_"What?" She asked, her voice breaking, and her eyes shining with the tears that were ready to fall._

_"If you loved me, you'd drop it and stay with me. You wouldn't ask me to pick up and go to America. You could go to University here."_

_"But I do love you. I don't want to stay in England for University, Ron. I've already been accepted into an University called Yale."_

_"You don't love me, Hermione."_

_"How could you say that? After all these years? After I gave myself to you? Do you really think I did that, and not love you?"_

_"Apparently." Ron's face was in a cold expression, his lips pressed into a thin line. Hermione tears were flowing freely now, her face red and her eyes puffy._

_"Maybe you're the one who doesn't love me." It was Ron's turn to feel as if he'd been slapped._

_"I love you more than anything, Hermione. You know that."_

_"Do I?"_

_"I gave myself to you, as you did me. Of course I do."_

_"If you did, you'd support me. You'd let me go to University. You wouldn't even question my love for you. You'd be happy for me."_

_"How can I be happy for you? When you want to leave me?"_

_"I don't want to leave you, Ron. I just want to further my education."_

_"Seems like you want to leave to me." She couldn't take this._

_"Viktor would let me." She knew that would make him blow up._

_"Oh, he would? Maybe you should have stayed with him then! Maybe you should have slept with him!"_

_"Is that what you think?"_

_"Yes. No, Hermione. If you want to hear this, fine. No, I don't love you." With that he stormed out of the flat they shared. He never told her about getting accepted into Auror Training. _

"Did you ever go to University?"

"Not in America. I couldn't."

"Why not?"

"I couldn't bear leaving the memory of you behind." She said, sniffling. He wiped a stray tear away from Hermione's cheek.

"Then why didn't you stop me from leaving?"

"I couldn't. I couldn't let my pride fall, I couldn't let you throw away the Training Program." Ron sighed. They wasted three years because of where Hermione wanted to go to school. He felt foolish.

"I'm sorry I overreacted, Mione." He pulled her into his arms.

"I guess I should have said something sooner." She melted into his embrace, she'd forgotten how good it felt to be in his arms.


End file.
